And henry boozer



(No Model.) 3 Shets-Sheet 1.

J. B.. GIBBSXE H. BOOZER.

CORN HARVESTER No. 431576. Patented July 8, 1890.

(No Model.) Q 3 Sheets:-Sheet 2. Y

J. B. GIBBS & H. BOOZER.

CORN HARVESTER.

No. 431,576. Patented July 8, 1890.

Maw/QM m 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

J. B. GIBBS & I-I.- BOOZER.

CORN HARVESTBR.

Patented July 8,1890

m: mmms PETERS cm, wow-arm Wnsmnmnn,

' UNITED STATE-SIP ATENT OFFICE..-

AND HENRY BOOZER, OF MANSFIELD,

JAMES BLAIR GIBBS, OFMEXICO,

} OHIO.

CO RN-HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,576, dated July 8,1890. Application filed November 25, 1889. Serial No. 331,412. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

the same to out upon a slant. Fig. 4 is a detail edge View of the metalbar for securing Be it known that we, JAMES BLAIR GIBBS adj ustment tothe rotary knife. Fig. 5 is a and HENRY BOOZER, citizens of the Unitedfront' elevation of the adjusting mechanism.

. States, residing, respectively, at Mexico, Fig. 6 is an elevation of asection of the shaft 5 county of Wyandotte, State of Ohio, and atcarrying the sweep-arm's and the means em- Mansfield, in the county ofRichland and State ployed to cause the same to have an intermitof Ohio,have invented certain new and usetent rotary movement. Fig. 7 is anelevation ful Improvements in Corn-Harvesters; and we of a section ofthe table, showing the means do hereby declare that the following is afull, employed for raising and lowering the same. 10 clear, and exactdescription of the invention, Fig. 8 is a plan view of thecompressing-arms which will enable others skilled in the art to and thelever by which to raise the same to which it appertains to make and usethe same, lift the bundle of stalks from the table. Fig. reference beinghad to the accompanying 9 is a view of the shaft upon which thecomdrawings, and to theletters of reference 'pression-arms are mounted,showing the mov- 15 markedthereon, which form part of thisspeciablewedge for closing the arms and the fication. shoulders for abuttingagainst the under side Our invention relates to corn-harvesters, 'of thearms to raise the same when embracing and has for its object toconstruct a harvester the bundle. Fig. 10 is a detail view showing thatshall be portable, light, and convenient one of the telescopingstandards and the arm 20 of management, with the requisite strengthyieldingly and pivotally secured thereto for to perform the work ofcutting and gathering supporting one of the guides forthe cut stalks.the corn into bundles ready to be tied, and Fig. 11 is a detached viewof a portion of the then delivering the same from the table tframe-work, showing the caster-wheel frame the ground. and the journalfor the shaft upon which the 2 5 A further object is to provide for adjustacompression-arms are secured, and also an bility of the parts toconform to different automatically-locking support for the frameheightsof corn. work when delivering a bundle of stalks to A further object isto provide means for the ground. Fig. 12 is a detail view of onedelivering the cornstalks vertically upon the of the series of armsemployed in moving the 0 table and straightening the same to form a cornto the knives and the cut corn upon the compact bundle. lower table.

A further object is to provide compressing- A designates the main'axle,upon which are arms for closely compacting the stalks into a keyedwheels A, by which to render the harbundle while upon the table, andafter being vester portable.

5 bound to set the bundle in an upright posi- B designates a base-framemounted upon tion upon the ground. axle A, said frame consisting of aplatform The invention consists in the parts and supported bylongitudinal sills B and transcombination of parts hereinafterdescribed, verse sills B, there being a platform 15, and pointed out inthe claims. supported therefrom by means-of cross-timo 40 In thedrawings, Figure 1 is a perspective bers B (shown in dotted lines inFig. 1,) view of a harvester constructed in accordand which are securedcentrally to a section ance with our invention, Fig. 2 is a plan C of apost 0, the upper section 0 being arview of the same. the upper guidesand their ranged to slide telescopically upon the lower supporting-armsbeing omitted. Fig. 3 is a section when actuated by a lever C", ful- 545 detail view of the driving mechanism. Fig. crumed upon a standard 6and provided 4 is a view showing the miter-gear and axis with aspring-dog 0", adapted to engage in full lines and the revoluble knifeand into recesses in the sections 0 and C to hold bearing in section toillustrate the adjusta the platform to any desired adjustment as tobility of the axis from a Vertical to an inheight, the corners of thetable being held in I00 50 clined position to incline the knife to causeplace by means of telescopic posts D, one

section'of which is secured to the sills, the

opposite section being secured to the plat form.

D designates inclined posts secured to the longitudinal sills, and towhich are secured braces D by means of bolts I), passed ward end of theharvester, thereby forming.

a V-shaped recess between the sills, into which the uncut corn is causedto enter to be cut, as will be more fully explained. Sills E are securedto sills B at their rear ends, and are provided with an inclined fenderor guard E for the wheels, from which extends a brace E, which issecured to vertical standards 13'', extending from the sill in parallelrelation with post 0. The rear edge of the platform B is rounded at eachcorner and cut away at the center to form a convenient space in which toassemble a stook or bundle of cornstalks prior to being bound.

F designates a curved frame-work extend ing from the side. of theplatform 13 to the point in rear thereof at which the cut-away portioncommences, the framework being supported by means of tubular sections F,secured thereto, which telescope with the standards E when raised orlowered by means of levers Gr, fulcrumed upon standards G, framed intothe sills E, and may be held to any desired adjustment by means of aspring-catch, such as described with relation to sections C and C of thecentral post, or in any preferred manner. Frame-work F is further stayedby means of an inclined brace F, flexibly secured thereto and tostandards F corresponding to standards D of sill B, and being secured tostandards F by means of bolts F passed through longitudinal slots F of alength to allow the frame-work to be raised the desired distance.

H designates a guide having an inner contour corresponding, to the outeredge of the rear side and the rounded corner of the platform B, saidguide being secured to the frame-work F byQmeans of springs H, (shown indotted lines, Fig. 2,) which allow the guides to have a yieldingpressure againstthe stalks as they are passed against the same.

I designates a guide of like contour to that .of guide H and arrangedabove the same, being held in place by means of arms J, pivotallysecured upon tubular sections F and urged toward the platform B by meansof a coiledspring J, bearing against a stud J" upon section F and thearm.

K designates a guide-rail secured upon the platform and having a likecontour to that of the edge of the platform, which rail, in connectionwith rails H and I, serves to support the upper portion of the stalks inthe passage of the stalks to the rear of the machine, their lower endsbeing guided by fenders K and K secured to the lower portion of theframe of the machine.

L designates a bifurcated frame journaled upon the axle A, the outer endhaving a platform L secu red thereon, upon which the operator may stand,and there being a casterwheel M, journaled in a standard M, pivotallysecured to the frame L to sustain the weight of the operator thereon.

N designates a step secured to the lower frame-work, and into which isjournaled a standard N, provided with a fixed curved guide l a shortdistance above the framework and a pair of gripping-jaws O at somedistance above the guide N. Jaws O are pivotally mounted upon standardN, and are adapted to be closed by means of a wedge O, movable upon thestandard, the pointed end of the wedge being caused to enter a slot 0 ina web 0 upon the rear side of the arm and bear against the web of theopposite arm as the wedge is urged within the slot to cause the arms toclose, when upon urging the wedge within the slot to its full extentshoulders P are caused to contact with the arms and raise the samevertically upon the standard N to raise the stock or bundle of corngrasped by the arms, as will more fully appear.

P designates a gear keyed upon axle A and meshing with a pinion P upon acounter-shaft P, journaled in the framing, the counter-shaft being inparallel relation with the axle and having keyed thereon a bevelgear Q,which intermeshes with a like gear Q upon a vertical shaft R, having asquared end to entera squared socket R telescopically, into which issecured the lower end of a shaft Q,which passes through the platform 13j and has a sleeve 62 secured thereon,formed with a ratchet-face Q uponthe upper end, into which engages the ratchet-face of the lower end of asleeve S, upon which is secured an arm S, having extensions in oppositedirections from the shaft, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 7, sleeve Q beingnormally held in engagement with sleeve S by means of a spiral spring S.

To the outer ends of arms S are secured upper and lower sweeps T and T,respectively, the upper sweep T being keyed to a shaft T, which passesthrough the arm S and is attached to the lower sweep T below the same,there being a coiled spring T secured to the arm and sweep T, wherebythe sweep may move in radial line with the arm until meeting anobstruction sufficient to overcome the tension of the spring, when thesweep may swing back and pass the obstruca bevel-gear U, whichintermeshes with a bevel-gear U, secured upon a rotary knife U, wherebythe knife is given a rotary motion when the wheels A and axle A arerevolved. V designates a knife secured upon one side of sill E andadjacent to knife U.

\V designates semicircular guides secured upon the upper side ofplatform 13, into I will now describe the means employed to cause thesleeve S (which is loosely journaled upon shaft Q") to have anintermittent rotary movement to cause the sweeps to engage in front ofthe cut corn to urge the same to the rear of the platform.

Upon the under side of collar S is formed the inclined projection Qadapted to bear against the rod S and raise the sleeve when said rod isheld from vertical movement. Rod 8 is held from downward movement bymeans of a lever X, connected with a leverX, fulcrumed upon a pin X uponthe table, the end of the lever X being caused to move heneath the lowerend of rod S by means of a spring X (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2,) thelever X being withdrawn from engagement with said rod by means of themovement of the free end of the lever X as the passing corn contactstherewith in its movement. between the edge of the table and the guides.Normally the lever X is beneath rod S and holds the same from beingurged downward when the sleeverevolves until the incline Q rides uponthe end of the rod and lifts the sleeve from engagement with the sleeveQ, thereby stopping the revolution of sleeve S and the arms thereon.Sleeve S remains stationary until the end of lever X is moved towithdraw the end of lever Xfrom beneath the rod, when the rod movesdownward, permitting sleeve S to engage with sleeve Q and causing thearms to revolve to cause the sweeps to force the cut corn to the rear ofthe platform. Vhen the pressure is removed from lever X, spring X causesthe end of lever X to move beneath rod S, said rod being movedvertically upward by means of a spring Y thereon, and the operation justdescribed is repeated, thereby causing the sweeps to always move at theproper time to urge the cut corn to the rear of the machine. The armsand sweeps rest normally over the platform 13, the forward sweeps beingout of the stalk-passage.

To vary the inclination of the circular knife U, the lower end of theshaft upon which the knife iskeyed is journaled in a movable box Z,formed with a flange Z, which moves in a groove Z of a metal barZ,thelower portion of the box being connected with a bolt Z movable inacurved opening Z, forinedin a metal bar Z, secured to the framing,andby which the box may be moved laterallyto vary the inclination of theshaft to cause the knife to cut the corn upon an incline, therebyrequiring less power than when the knife severs the corn horizontally.The said metal bar Z maybe secured to the machine-frame in a mannersimilar to that in which the bar Z is secured.

a designatesastandard secured in an opening in the rear portion of thebase-frame and urged upward bya coiled spring I), the standard beingdesigned to be pressed down so that the lower end rests upon the groundand held from vertical movement by means of a spring-dog c engaging witha notch or notches d, the movement of the spring-dog being effected bymeans of a foot-lever e,formed with a projection f to engage with theenlarged head thereof.

g designates a rearwardly-extending rest against which the cut corn ismoved from either side of the machine, (it being understood that theharvester is designed to harvest two rows of corn at the same time, andhence whatever description has been given of one side pertains to theopposite side, the parts being duplicates.) Divider g extends rearwardlyin the path' of the cut corn as it is being assembled to form a bundleand tends to'straighten the stalks in proper condition to be bound.When, upon a sufficient quantity of stalks being assembled, the operatorpulls upon a lever h, thereby moving a lever L, fulcrumed centrally uponthe platform, the opposite end of the lever 2', being connected with thedivider, as shown in Fig. 2, retracts the same, permitting the bundle tobe removed.

To move the wedge O vertically upon standard N, aleverj is fulcrumedupon an arm is, integral with a band Z, secured to the shaft. Themachine is drawn forward by means of animal-power attached to thillsconnected with the front of the machine.

In operation, the harvester being first adjusted to cause the guides andsweeps to contact with the corn at the center of weight of the corn toestablish an equilibrium and cause the stalks to move evenly to,straighten into a compact mass, the machine is moved forward, with eachsill E moving upon the outside of a row of corn. The sills B being uponthe inside, the corn is caused to pass between the table and theyielding guides H and I, and also a spring-bar I", pivoted upon thetable, whereby the corn is compacted before reaching the knives, and,contacting with lever X, causes lever X to be withdrawn fromsupporting-rod S"., thereby permitting the sleeve S to engage with theratchet end of sleeve Q, causing the arms S and sweeps T and T torevolve, whereby the sweeps strike in front of the corn and pass thesame to the knives, where it is severed and urged rearward upon thelower platform upon the base-frame until it is assembled in-the openingin rear of themachine, the stalks of each side being pressed against thecorresponding side of the rest 9, when sweeps T and 1",

upon being urged against the cut corn in the rear of the machine, yieldto the pressure by reason of spring T and turn to allow arms S. torevolve past the same, when the sweeps assume their normal position. Assoon as the lever X is released by the passing corn it flies back to itsnormal position, causing lever X to pass beneath rod S and as sleeve Scontinues its revolution incline Q' rides upon the end of the rod andraises the sleeve from engagement with sleeve Q, thereby stopping therevolution of the sleeve and arms T and T. As soon as sufficient cornhas been' gathered inrear of the machine to form a bundle the operatorpulls upon lever h, causing the rest g to be Withdrawn, and then pressesdownward upon lever j, causing wedge O to enter slot 0' in one of thearms O,when upon further pressure the wedge causes both arms to embracethe corn and press the same into, a compact mass, when the operator tiesthe bundle and, pressing his foot upon lever e, retracts spring bolt 0,allowing standard a to be moved by the operators foot downwardly untilit contacts with the ground, when the spring-dog is allowed to engagewith one of the recesses d, formed in the standard, thereby supportingthe rear end of the frame against the weight to be put thereon 1ndischarging the bound bundle, which is accomplished by means of theoperator pushing down upon lever j until the projections P engage withthe arms 0 and raise the same, together with the bound bundle of corn,when upon pressing upon the lever j laterally the arms are caused toswing to one side and deliver the bundle upon the ground in an uprightposition, when the operation is repeated.

It will be seen that by reason of the adjustability of the parts theharvester can be adapted to corn of large or small growth, and that byreason of the adjustability of the bearing in which the knife-shaft runsany desired inclination of out can be hadafeature of great value whenthe stalks are large and by reason of the guides being yieldinglySecured the corn is compacted before being carried to the knife, andthat by reason of the intermittent revolution of the sweep and the tripmechanism which causes them to revolve the sweeps are timed in theirrevolution to move in front of the corn just before the same is severedby the knives.

What we claim is I 1. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with a rigidplatform, of a Vertically-adjustable platform arranged above the sameand guides held in close relation with the sides and rear portions ofthe adjustable platform by means of yielding connections with the frameto form stalk-passages for the corn around the platform, as and for thepurpose described.

2. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with the main frame, of thediverging sills E, the upper platform vertically adjustable upon themain frame, the verticallyadjustable guide attached to the sills E, theinclined guides F, connecting the vertically-adjustable guide and thesills E, and the inclined guides D", connecting thevertically-adjustable platform and the main frame, and the cuttingmechanism, arranged substantially as shown and described.

3. In a corn-harvester, a base-frame, a vertical post secured centrallythereof, a frame, and a platform secured thereon around which the stalkspass and provided with a tubular section adapted to fit telescopicallyupon the post, in combination with a lever for raising the platform anda catch for holding the same in position, as and for the purpose setforth.

4. In a corn-harvester, a vertical shaft geared with the main shaft, aratchet-sleeve secured thereon, a ratchet-sleeve .movable thereon andadapted to engage with the fixed ratchet-sleeve, a flange upon themovable sleeve formed with an incline, and a post normally bearingagainst the sleeve and held from downward movement by a lever beneaththe same, in combination with a lever fulcrumed upon the frame, oneend'thereof being in the path of travel of the stalks, the opposite endbeing connected with the lever beneath the post, as and for the purposeset forth.

5. In a corn-harvester, the combination, with the upper and lowerplatform, constructed as described, and the guides arranged around thesame to form stalk-passages, of a vertical post, compression-armsmovably j ournaled thereon, and a vertically-movable wedge adapted toengage curved slots in the arms to close the same, as and for thepurpose set forth.

6. In a corn-harvester, a vertical post and arms mounted thereon, incombination with an upwardly-moving wedge arranged upon the post belowthe-arms, adapted to engage slots in the arms to close the same, andformed with projections to raise the arms upon the. post, as and for thepurpose set forth.

7, In a corn-harvester formed with two cutting sides, an upper and lowerplatform, and guides around the sides and rear of the same to formstalk-passages, a central rest adapted to support the stalks from eitherside, and a lever mechanism for retracting the said rest, as and for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we hereby aiiix oursignatures in presence of two witnesses.

'JAMES BLAIR GIBBS.

HENRY BOOZER.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM WEBSTER, CARROLL J. WEBsTER.

IIO

